How can i find my trigger/switch?

Hi Tony,

Im in a small dilemma, and im hoping you can help.Basically its as the title says.As you know im a beginner and would like to progress.Now i have more understanding about mma than i did, im picking up on a few things about myself.

If i stand back and watch some of the higher grades in the class, i realise that they dont appear to be just training, they appear to be full on sparring, with out the actual intention of hurting, unless by mistake.Almost as if mentally their life depended on it and also them being fitter, quicker, harder hitting etc.

Its like they have turned on a switch, do their thing, and then turn it off again.I cant find my switch.Ive tried thinking about people i dont like, but it hasnt worked.I dont know if its because i know i must show control at all times, as i dont want to hurt anyone by mistake.

appreciate your help Tony, thanks

Hi Esther,

This is a tough question and one that has many answers. Here some comments for starters as this subject is close to the heart of many top instructors such as; Geoff Thompson, Peter Consterdine, Bob Spour, Matty Evans, Tony Somers, Alan Peasland, Mick Tully, Rick Young, Iain Abernethy and many others (far too many to list on this reply).

The answer can be categorized into two words, ‘attitude’ and “intention”. If you want to be good at anything in life you need the right attitude and the intention to want to do it to the best of your ability no matter how difficult it may be. It is said that your attitude determines your altitude and that martial arts training is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration.

You are correct in noting that some of our students have the ability to switch on at will and give 100% with no anger present. Peter Consterdine explained it to me like this “you need to get angry with yourself and not your opponent” so that you can keep going with 100% effort even if you feel like you are going to be sick or pass out.

The drive to want to do better or refuse to be beaten is personal to all of us and we each develop it based on our environment. For example, I know many martial artists who are prolific with a great attitude and intent so strong that they never even think about giving up and they got their drive from being bullied and deciding they would never be bullied again. I know others who are born with an attitude; they would be prolific fighters even if they took up origami. And there others who just strive to better themselves and set an example to other students such as Guru Dan Inosanto.

I recently attended a superb Bob Spour NLP/Self protection course in which attitude and intent are key drivers in Bob’s teaching. After the session Bob was able to assess that my attitude and intent were seeded when I was 8 years old after just arriving to the UK from my homeland in Sicily. I had a tough time at school as I could not speak any English. The end result was I had a fight every day of my early school years which slowly led to my developing an aggressive attitude the minute a confrontation arose. I was not aggressive as a child but I did become aggressive. In one fight things got so vicious that I severed one of main arteries in my arm after going through a glass door. Over the years I have worked to control my aggression and now I can simply switch it on at will as controlled attitude and intent with no malice present when I am training. It took me a long time to get to this point.

My advice is to train a few times with fellow martial artists who have good attitude and intent (e.g. Alan Macdonald - he has massive intent) and their attitude and intent will slowly rub off on you. You will find it contagious when you train with good people who have integrity and good intentions.

Basically you can be inspired by others to grow your own die hard attitude. To achieve this you will have to be willing to give 110% effort as that will earn you the respect of your fellow students and that means such things as being totally focused when you are holding pads for your training partner (and not looking around the hall to see what others are doing). Also more importantly having the right attitude can mean the difference between life and death in a real confrontation. As Geoff Thompson taught me “hit first and hit hard” – to this you need the right attitude and belief in your ability which enables you to switch on at will with no hesitation. This comes after years of training with the right attitude and intent - you are what you train, if you train at 50% effort then you will fight at 50% effort in a real confrontation (and probably lose). The other benefit is that your attitude and intent at training can subconsciously transpose to other areas of your life and you will fair better in day to day living.

Regards,
Tony

Very nice post Tony.

I cannot add anything to what Tony has said on this.
Action triggers are developed like Tony has so rightly said by the right training and training with the right people.

I went through some of the same stuff as a child, bullied lots during school. fighting almost everyday, and was always placid because I didnt and still dont like violence of any kind.

One day my attitude turned, and I dont remember a lot about it, only that I had won, and my Intent was to stop all this grief I was getting. something just switched on inside me, pure focus, anger, and intent all in one go, looking on it now I know that I had hit my breaking point and went with everything I had. back then it scared me, but was also exhilerating as I had finally put pay to this one kid who had made my life a misery.

It is still there inside me, but through training and being with the right people I can now use it in a controlled way when training. and IF like tony says you get into a situation ( which I hope never happens again ). Then it becomes instinct, to stop what is there in front of me and keep me safe.

Always train with 110% effort and give everything you can, to exhaustion and then through it. dig deep when you get to the point of wanting to stop, and power on through. whatever it is buried inside you which motivates you, use to get you through it.

Once you train right, it will come with the right isntructor,

Alan and Tony are two of the best for Intent in training, and focus, and you can be sure the guys in class who already have this ability to switch are ones you also need to speak to, and pair off with. You have the ability, you just need to be able to let it out,

You said " you dont want to hurt anyone by mistake ". in a class such as Tony's and Alan's you are in a safe environment, so make the most of it.

Good luck with your training, and train hard.

Craig

Thanks for the kind comments Craig. You're a good man!!
LOL

No Worries Alan

You still owe me a coffee lol.

Triggers, or anchors can be installed for any behaviour you wish to produce on demand. I would be so bold to say that every behaviour you display in response to a situation has been anchored in at some time or another.

Happiness, sadness, joy, sorrow, depression, ectasy, aggression,curiosity, confidence, weakness, fear, relaxation etc are all conditioned in during your life. In fact the surprising thing is that they actually have a structure and that structure can be altered...if you have the tools.

Relaxation is often triggered by certain types of music for example. Soothing music that reminds you of a situation you were once in when you first heard it. If I hear AC/DC I am instantly transported to a time at the NEC back in the 80's and I feel like jumping around...(even at my age!). If I hear Thai Music I am ready to fight in the ring...If I hear sitar I am back in the 60's....wow man!

You already have the ability to anchor states of positive intent. In fact you have done it many times in the past and not been aware of doing it. You probably thought that these things just happened and that you had no control. A bit like being the passenger on a bus. You need to ask who the hell is driving it and where!

You can make the difference however by becoming the driver of that bus; and you can do this by thinking back to the time when you had a powerful feeling of intent. I mean a really powerful feeling. So strong that your memory is vivid. You can probably see yourself clearly in your minds eye, hearing the sounds you heard at that time and feeling those feelings you had at that time. You may even notice the smells and tastes of that time. Using and noticing your senses like this allows you to really savour everything in life. The good and the bad!

Once you are in this state notice where your feelings are and just what they feel like. Are they in your head, your body or your limbs? Do they radiate out or spin? Heavy or light, warm or cool. Do you see yourself or are you looking through your own eyes. Is the image 3D or 2D? Look, listen and feel what's happening without putting to many labels on them and, when you are at the peak of that experience, do something that will associate you to that feeling.

Maybe it's a click of the finger or rubbing your palms together. I would suggest that you create that feeling of intent and then walk into the class...that would be a great anchor and a be a great trigger. Of course this would mean that everyone in the class would have to watch out! You will then enter the classes with a completely different perception of yourself and others in the class will see the difference and respond appropriately.


With this power you could probably do most anything you want!! That would be handy wouldn't it.

Why not do this now and see what the results are. Let me know how you get on...

Sorry to post this long answer on your Q/A Tony.

Hi Bob,

I loved your comments and no apologies necessary - and while I am on line I just wanted to say your course on Sunday was awesome – even if you did make fun of my age (and Mr. Wiggly!) -

So you know I had a massive technically detailed report to write for a power station that has been severely haunting me for weeks - after your course I came home and worked until 4.00am to get the first main draft done - I simply just did it by switching states –I would say I did 2 days work in less than 1 day -

Anyone reading this I recommend that you attend Bob's courses – I enjoyed Sunday even if my neck looks like the cobra at safari park after 2 hours of neck cranking drills – my kneck was so twisted I was telling jokes over my shoulder (a bit like a taxi driver!)

Once again thanks for all your help Bob and please keep contributing your comments in my Q & A section

Regards,
Tony

I am also thinking of modeling here. Look at the guys that are sparring. Then in your minds eye play the movie of him sparring. Then you replace his head by yours. Like you are doing the sparring. Go inside it and feel what you would feel doing the sparring. Feel the contact being made with the target, the air moving over your skin. Hear the smacking when your fist hits the target.... Then do the sparring while in the state. If it works you want to anchor it like explained above.
You can also just imagine that you are Tony, Ross or someone else while sparring.

Bob, Tony correct me if I said something eronous here.

Kind Regards,

Nick Engelen